7 NUTRITION TIPS
By Melanie McGrice
FOR FITNESS PROFESSIONALS
A
dvanced
Accredited
Practising Dietitian
Melanie McGrice provides
the seven most important
nutrition tips that PTs should
share with their clients
Sports nutrition is a large topic and
although I could keep you reading until
tomorrow on all the tips that I want to
share, I’ve had to contain myself and
narrow it down to just a handful. Rather
than just preach nutrition facts and
figures, I interviewed personal trainer
and regular attendee at our nutrition
courses, Steve Burden of Fitness Key
(www.fitnesskeybodycomp.com.au) to
understand some of the nutrition tips he’s
found most useful with his clients.
1. Spread protein intake
throughout the day
Whether you’re training a young mum,
post-menopausal woman or professional
24
athlete, everyone wants to optimise
muscle mass. Given that ingestion of
approximately 25g to 30g of protein
per meal maximally stimulates muscle
protein synthesis, it is important that you
encourage your clients not to rely on a
couple of large protein-laden meals but
to spread their protein intake throughout
during the day.
2. Post-exercise
snacks should include
carbohydrate and protein
To optimise performance (both mentally
and physically), meals should be timed
to include a snack within 30 minutes of
training to optimise muscle growth and
replenish glycogen stores. Exhaustive
exercise studies conducted by Zawadzki
and his colleagues show that the effect
of post-exercise recovery is best seen
after ingestion of a small serve of protein
and carbohydrate. Such snacks can
include legumes, low fat milk or yoghurt.
3. Ensure your clients get a
good night’s sleep
Recent research coming out of the
Australian Institute of Sport clearly
demonstrates the importance of sleep
for optimal athletic performance. It’s not
just the quantity of sleep that matters,
but also ensuring that your client’s
have good sleep quality as well. From a
weight management point of view, there
is a wealth of evidence to show that
poor sleep quantity and quality plays
havoc not only with the stress hormone
cortisol, but also appetite hormones
(particularly leptin and ghrelin). So, if you
run an early morning bootcamp, make
sure you encourage your clients go to
bed early!
4. Don’t let them forget
breakfast
Like mine, many of your clients probably
also skip breakfast. One of the reasons
why breakfast is one of the most
important meals of the day is because
eating has a thermal effect and
stimulates the basal metabolic rate and
allows kilojoules to be burnt up to 30 per
cent faster. Even if the client isn’t a big
breakfast person, I would still encourage
something small to start digestion and
kick start the metabolism.
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SPRING 2015
I’m surprised at
the number of
women lately,
who have been
prescribed a postexercise protein
shake when they’re
seeking weight
loss. Tailor your
nutrition advice
to meet the
individual’s
needs.
5. Ensure adequate
hydration
Even though the saying of ‘drink eight
glasses of water a day’ is catchy, it’s not
that simple for everyone. Fluid demands
on the body vary for a range of reasons
including weight, temperature, health
conditions and physical exertion. As a
general guide, your clients should be
aiming for approximately 35ml water/
kg body weight. This doesn’t take into
account if they are sweating (and
breathing) out excess fluid and so it
is crucial that your clients talk to a
professional to calculate their individual
fluid requirements for workout days as
well as rest and recovery days if they are
competing in events.
6. Aim for fish at least three
times per week
It’s common knowledge that the omega
3 fatty acids found in fish are beneficial
for decreasing cholesterol levels and
the risk of heart attack, however omega
3 also helps to decrease inflammation.
The impact of omega 3 on inflammation
is also believed to assist with muscle
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SPRING 2015
recovery after lifting weights. Ensure
clients average at least 500mg per day
by consuming at least three fish-based
meals per week.
7. Remember to tailor
dietary advice to the
individual
I’m surprised at the number of women
lately, who have been prescribed a
post-exercise protein shake when they’re
seeking weight loss. Although they
can be a good choice for some, some
protein shakes contain more kilojoules
than the women in question would have
burned during a low impact 20-minute
workout. Conversely, I’ve also seen men
over six-feet tall, who run over 10km
a day and participate in competitive
triathlons, being put onto low
carbohydrate diets. My key message?
Tailor your n ]